The Favored Heiress
Chapter 698: Suitable Home, Suitable Room

Chapter 698: Chapter 698: Suitable Home, Suitable Room

Li Qiao wiped the sweat off her forehead, licked her dry lips, and murmured lowly, "I’m listening, I’ll contact Mom."

Zong Yue turned around and clamped the phone between her shoulder, while opening the gift box and replying, "That’s good, don’t forget it. I think Mom is quite worried about you, she seemed to have cried..."

Li Qiao’s breath was unsteady, yet she still forced herself to answer, "Mhm, I won’t forget."

At this point, the conversation should have ended and the call finished.

However, just as Li Qiao was about to press the end call button, Zong Yue asked with a smile, "Qiaoqiao, the dog you’re raising, is it a large breed or a small one? I like Alaskan dogs, I really want to raise one..."

Li Qiao really wanted to say that the breed in front of her is called Master Yan.

Perhaps it was the slight odd noise over the phone that aroused Zong Yue’s suspicion. She pressed the phone closer to her ear to listen carefully, but then a devilish warning voice came from the other end, "Zong Yue, don’t make phone calls late at night."

Beep beep beep—

The line went dead, scaring Zong Yue so much that she shivered, causing the phone to slip from her shoulder and fall to the ground, smashing the screen.

Uncle Shaoyan!

"How can you be such a klutz?" Li Jun’s voice suddenly came from the doorway, nearly causing Zong Yue to hurl the gift box at him.

Still shaken, she looked at Li Jun, patted her chest, and complained with a frown, "You scared me to death."

Li Jun glanced at the phone on the ground, then observed Zong Yue’s clearly guilty expression, bent down to pick up the phone, and handed it to her, "What are you doing to be so jumpscarey? Guilty conscience?"

Zong Yue saw the crack in the screen and pouted, "Who would do something guilty in their own home?"

It was just Uncle Shaoyan’s words that had scared her badly.

It wasn’t even 6 p.m. yet, how was it already night?

Li Jun watched Zong Yue’s awkward expression intently, caught sight of the broken screen, and naturally took out his own phone, making a call to his assistant, "Buy a new phone tomorrow and deliver it to my office."

Zong Yue looked at him in surprise, a smile spreading across her lips, "No need, I can buy it myself."

Li Jun pursed his lips, continuing the call, "Mhm, the latest model, white."

Seeing this, Zong Yue placed her black phone on the Glazed Pavilion, took out a pear from the gift box and began to wash it, "Why white?"

She didn’t recall ever telling him she liked white.

Maybe because she’d spent a long time in the army, she preferred dark, subdued colors.

At that moment, Li Jun leisurely undid his cufflinks, rolled up his sleeves, and said in a low voice, "Mine is black."

"Then I’ll also..." Zong Yue was about to say she would also use black, but suddenly, an idea lit up in her mind.

Black, white, a couple’s set?

Is that what he meant?

Zong Yue didn’t ask for clarification; this vague feeling gave her a tiny thrill of delight.

A man like Li Jun, never expect him to express his feelings directly.

If they were to openly address it, it might make things awkward for both.

Zong Yue washed the pear with her head down, her eyes filled with sweetness.

Before long, Li Jun finished washing the pear for her, walked to a window, and lit a cigarette. With just a slight turn of his body, he could see Zong Yue’s earnest profile.

Her hair had grown longer, casually tied behind her head. As her head was bent cutting fruits, a few strands of loose hair fell over her forehead, exuding a serene beauty.

Perfect both inside and out.

Li Jun’s Adam’s apple moved, and he couldn’t help but step forward, using his fingers to brush away the strands of hair blocking her view.

Then, in a moment of carelessness, Zong Yue cut her hand with the knife.

Li Jun: "..."

The wound wasn’t large, but it bled nonetheless.

Zong Yue dumbfoundedly stared at her left index finger, then lifted her eyelids to look at Li Jun and reluctantly put her finger in her mouth.

"Does it hurt?" Li Jun frowned, carelessly tossed half a smoldering cigarette into the sink, forcefully grabbed her wrist to take a look, then turned and headed for the door.

"Hey, hey, I haven’t finished cutting the fruit yet." Zong Yue was pulled upstairs by him, still muttering, "Look at you—instead of smoking properly, why come and bother me?"

Li Jun’s eyebrows knitted into a ’Chuan’ character as he strode back to the room, released her, and rummaged through a cabinet for the first-aid kit.

Zong Yue felt it was rather an overreaction, stood still, and chuckled, "It’s just a small cut, no big deal, it will heal in a few days."

"Sit tight." Li Jun, holding the first-aid kit in one hand, nodded toward the chair with his chin.

Having no choice, Zong Yue walked over as he opened the first-aid kit and pulled out a band-aid, "Just stick this on and it will be fine."

Li Jun took her hand again and examined it carefully, his expression stern despite Zong Yue’s smiling eyes, he took out iodine to clean the wound, blew on it to dry, then finally put the band-aid on her. "Don’t get it wet these next few days."

Zong Yue knew too well how rigid he could be and responded, "Okay, then I’ll practice washing my face with one hand."

"If it’s inconvenient, I’ll do it for you."

Zong Yue’s mouth fell open, staring at Li Jun’s utterly serious expression; her brain short-circuited, and she blurted out, "Can you?"

Of course, she didn’t receive any affirmative answer because, starting from that evening, Li Jun began to demonstrate through his actions whether he could indeed help her wash her face, bathe, take a love bath...

...

Meanwhile, the ’battle’ in Parma’s bedroom was drawing to a close.

Li Qiao lay sprawled on the bed, her entire body as if drenched in water.

She might no longer have the face to meet her sister-in-law, nor could she look straight at the words ’feeding the dog’.

After more than ten minutes, Li Qiao put on her robe, took her phone, and went downstairs to the living room.

She took out a can of beer from the fridge, sat on the bar’s high stool, and dialed Duan Shuyuan’s number.

On the other end, the call was almost instantly answered.

"My baby." Duan Shuyuan’s gentle voice was as tender as ever.

Li Qiao took a sip of beer to moisten her throat and called out softly with a slight smile, "Mom, have you had dinner?"

Duan Shuyuan’s eyes turned red, she put down her chopsticks and stepped out of the dining room, "I’ve finished eating, what about you?"

It was just the most casual of domestic exchanges, yet Duan Shuyuan couldn’t help but choke up.

Li Qiao, ever sensitive, naturally detected the unusual tone in her voice.

After a bit of small talk, the mother and daughter fell into silence.

Duan Shuyuan walked alone into the outdoor garden, and after a long while, she struggled to ask, "Qiaoqiao, will you... come back?"

Li Qiao, pinching the beer can, felt a bitter taste in her mouth, "Of course, I will come back. Why do you ask?"

"It’s nothing, just that... you..."

Duan Shuyuan hesitated, some words hovering on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask.

Li Qiao gulped down a big swig of beer, not waiting for her to organize her thoughts, she said with a light laugh, "Mom, I’ll be back in a few days. You and Dad raised me for over twenty years. Even if I’m married now, I won’t become like spilled water."

Implicit in her words, Duan Shuyuan understood.

She swallowed hard, murmuring repeatedly, "Alright, let me know before you come back. You might not like the food here in Parma, come home early. I’ll cook something delicious for you."

After the call, Li Qiao lowered her eyelids, shielding the rising mist in her eyes.

Suddenly, the can in her palm was empty—the beer can had been taken away.